SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The competition for the Giants’ No. 5 outfield job might get a bit more crowded this spring.

The Giants have agreed to terms with outfielder Tyler Colvin on a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, as Alex Pavlovic of Bay Area News Group first reported.

Colvin’s deal is pending a physical, which is no rubber stamp. The 28-year-old had a major league deal with the Baltimore Orioles last month before the club rescinded it because tests showed concerns with his back. It’s not like Colvin was a special case, though. The Orioles medical staff flunked more people this spring than Mr. Hand in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

Colvin, 28, is a left-handed hitter who hit 20 home runs as a rookie for the Chicago Cubs in 2010. He hit 18 homers for the Colorado Rockies in 2012 but had trouble staying healthy last season, appearing in just 27 games.

Colvin might be best known for sustaining one of the more bizarre injuries in baseball history -- getting impaled with the shard of a broken bat, which ended his 2010 season. He was leading off third base during a game at Miami when a bat fragment pierced his chest; he was hospitalized with a punctured lung.

Colvin could provide competition with Juan Perez for the No. 5 outfield job. Although Colvin can’t defend the way Perez can, the Giants didn’t have much in the way of left-handed power threats for their bench.

Colvin’s career OPS is 100 points higher against right-handed pitchers.